Decrease of radionuclide sorption in hydrated cement systems by organic ligands; Comparative evaluation using experimental data and thermodynamic calculations for ISA/EDTA-actinide-cement systems

Ochs, M.*; Dolder, F.*; Tachi, Yukio

Applied Geochemistry, 136, p.105161_1 - 105161_11, 2022/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2021.105161

Various types of radioactive wastes and environments contain organic substances that can stabilize the aqueous complexes with radionuclides and therefore lead to a decrease of sorption. The present study focuses on testing a methodology to quantify sorption reduction factors (SRFs) in the presence of organic ligands for cement systems. Three approaches for the estimation of SRFs; (1) analogy with solubility enhancement factors, (2) radionuclide speciation based on the thermodynamic calculations, and (3) experimental sorption data in ternary systems, were coupled and tested for the representative organic ligands (ISA and EDTA) and selected key radionuclides (actinides). Our approach allows to critically evaluate the dependence of SRFs for various systems on the chosen method of quantification, in accordance with the data availability for a given systems. The reliable SRFs can only be derived from the sorption measurements in ternary systems. SRF often need to be derived in the absence of such direct evidence, and estimations need to be made based on analogies and speciation information. However, such estimates may be subject to substantial uncertainties.

Additive-free hydrothermal leaching method with low environmental burden for screening of strontium in soil

Kato, Takuma*; Nagaoka, Mika; Guo, H.*; Fujita, Hiroki; Aida, Taku*; Smith, R. L. Jr.*

Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(39), p.55725 - 55735, 2021/10

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14916-0

In this work, hydrothermal leaching was applied to simulated soils (clay minerals vermiculite, montmorillonite, kaolinite) and actual soils (Terunuma, Japan) to generate organic acids with the objective to develop an additive-free screening method for determination of Sr in soil. Stable strontium (SrCl) was adsorbed onto soils for study and ten organic acids were evaluated for leaching Sr from simulated soils under hydrothermal conditions (120 to 200C) at concentrations up to 0.3 M. For strontium-adsorbed vermiculite (Sr-V), 0.1 M citric acid was found to be effective for leaching Sr at 150C and 1 h treatment time. Based on these results, the formation of organic acids from organic matter in Terunuma soil was studied. Hydrothermal treatment of Terunuma soil produced a maximum amount of organic acids at 200C and 0.5 h reaction time. To confirm the possibility for leaching of Sr from Terunuma soil, strontium-adsorbed Terunuma soil (Sr-S) was studied. For Sr-S, hydrothermal treatment at 200C for 0.5 h reaction time allowed 40% of the Sr to be leached at room temperature, thus demonstrating an additive-free method for screening of Sr in soil. The additive-free hydrothermal leaching method avoids calcination of solids in the first step of chemical analysis and has application to both routine monitoring of metals in soils and to emergency situations.

Establishment of the measurement system of radiation dependent mutation in organ cells derived from human induced pluripotent cells (Contract research); FY2019 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Tokyo Institute of Technology*

JAEA-Review 2020-061, 56 Pages, 2021/01

JAEA-Review-2020-061.pdf:2.93MB

The Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), had been conducting the Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project (hereafter referred to "the Project") in FY2019. The Project aims to contribute to solving problems in the nuclear energy field represented by the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO). For this purpose, intelligence was collected from all over the world, and basic research and human resource development were promoted by closely integrating/collaborating knowledge and experiences in various fields beyond the barrier of conventional organizations and research fields. The sponsor of the Project was moved from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to JAEA since the newly adopted proposals in FY2018. On this occasion, JAEA constructed a new research system where JAEA-academia collaboration is reinforced and medium-to-long term research/development and human resource development contributing to the decommissioning are stably and consecutively implemented. Among the adopted proposals in FY2018, this report summarizes the research results of the "Establishment of the measurement system of radiation dependent mutation in organ cells derived from human induced pluripotent cells" conducted in FY2019. In this study, we aimed to establish measurement system of radiation dependent mutation for analyze radiation effect to the human body. A distinctive feature of this study is to compare several organ cells which possess same genome DNA using human induced pluripotent stem cell. Further, using artificial intelligence technology and machine leaning method, we will analyze differences of mutation frequency during samples.

Key factors controlling radiocesium sorption and fixation in river sediments around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, 1; Insights from sediment properties and radiocesium distributions

Tachi, Yukio; Sato, Tomofumi*; Akagi, Yosuke*; Kawamura, Makoto*; Nakane, Hideji*; Terashima, Motoki; Fujiwara, Kenso; Iijima, Kazuki

Science of the Total Environment, 724, p.138098_1 - 138098_11, 2020/07

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138098

To understand and predict radiocesium transport behaviors in the environment, highly contaminated sediments from Ukedo and Odaka rivers around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant were investigated systematically focusing on key factors controlling radiocesium sorption and fixation, including particle size, clay mineralogy and organic matter.

Establishment of measurement system for radiation-dependent mutation in organ tissue cells derived from human iPS cells (Contract research); FY2018 Center of World Intelligence Project for Nuclear Science/Technology and Human Resource Development

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Tokyo Institute of Technology*

JAEA-Review 2019-026, 51 Pages, 2020/01

JAEA-Review-2019-026.pdf:2.8MB

JAEA/CLADS had been conducting the Center of World Intelligence Project for Nuclear Science/Technology and Human Resource Development (hereafter referred to "the Project") in FY2018. The Project aims to contribute to solving problems in nuclear energy field represented by the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. For this purpose, intelligence was collected from all over the world, and basic research and human resource development were promoted by closely integrating/collaborating knowledge and experiences in various fields beyond the barrier of conventional organizations and research fields. Among the adopted proposals in FY2018, this report summarizes the research results of the "Establishment of Measurement System for Radiation-dependent Mutation in Organ Tissue Cells Derived from Human iPS Cells". The purpose of the present study is to establish an experimental system to evaluate the difference in radiation-dependent mutation among tissues. In previous studies, unified evaluation of the difference in radiation-dependent mutation among tissues has been difficult because the mutation rate among tissues had been evaluated using cell lines taken from different individuals. Recent biotechnological innovation in stem cell field represented by iPS cells has become enable to induce differentiation of tissue cells from a single cell. In the present study, Tokyo Institute of Technology produce tissue cells in nervous, dermal, blood and circulatory systems by unifying these new technologies. Using these tissue cells, we measure the mutation rate for each tissue after the radiation exposure, and aim to establish an experimental system to evaluate the difference in mutation depending on tissues by constructing a mathematical model.

A Laboratory investigation of microbial degradation of simulant fuel debris by oxidizing microorganisms

Liu, J.; Dotsuta, Yuma; Kitagaki, Toru; Kozai, Naofumi; Yamaji, Keiko*; Onuki, Toshihiko

Proceedings of International Topical Workshop on Fukushima Decommissioning Research (FDR 2019) (Internet), 2 Pages, 2019/05

To decommission the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP), it is necessary to estimate the current status of fuel debris and predicate the possible change under various condition. Some microorganisms may enter the plant due to the seawater injection after accident and future defueling activity. In this study, microbial influence on fuel debris under aerobic condition was experimentally investigated. By culturing some bacteria in the presence of simulant fuel debris in liquid medium, the microbial degradation of fuel debris was observed.

Retention of uranium in cement systems; Effects of cement degradation and complexing ligands

Ochs, M.*; Vriens, B.*; Tachi, Yukio

Progress in Nuclear Science and Technology (Internet), 5, p.208 - 212, 2018/11

https://doi.org/10.15669/pnst.5.208

The clean-up activities related to the accident at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant give rise to several types of wastes containing cementitious materials, such as concrete. Further, the use of cement-based barriers may be considered, due to their favorable and stable chemical properties, including their ability to sorb or incorporate radionuclides. Wastes from Fukushima are expected to contain substances that can have perturbing effects on retention, especially organic complexing substances, boron, and chloride salts. The present study focuses on a methodology for quantifying the retention behaviour of UVI) and U(IV) in cement materials of different degradation and in the presence of organics, boron, and salts on the basis of available literature information. A stepwise approach is proposed and illustrated for Kd setting for U(VI) and U(IV).

Role of soil-to-leaf tritium transfer in controlling leaf tritium dynamics; Comparison of experimental garden and tritium-transfer model results

Ota, Masakazu; Kwamena, N.-O. A.*; Mihok, S.*; Korolevych, V.*

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 178-179, p.212 - 231, 2017/11

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2017.09.002

Environmental transfer models assume that organically-bound tritium (OBT) is formed directly from tissue-free water tritium (TFWT) in environmental compartments. Nevertheless, studies in the literature have shown that measured OBT/TFWT ratios are variable. The importance of soil-to-leaf HTO transfer pathway in controlling the leaf tritium dynamics is not well understood. A model inter-comparison of two tritium transfer models (CTEM-CLASS-TT and SOLVEG-II) was carried out with measured environmental samples from an experimental garden plot set up next to a tritium-processing facility. The garden plot received one of three different irrigation treatments - no external irrigation, irrigation with low tritium water and irrigation with high tritium water. The contrast between the results obtained with the different irrigation treatments provided insights into the impact of soil-to-leaf HTO transfer on the leaf tritium dynamics. Concentrations of TFWT and OBT in the garden plots that were not irrigated or irrigated with low tritium water were variable, responding to the arrival of the HTO-plume from the tritium-processing facility. In contrast, for the plants irrigated with high tritium water, the TFWT concentration remained elevated due to a continuous source of high HTO in the soil. Calculated concentrations of OBT in the leaves showed an initial increase followed by quasi-equilibration with the TFWT concentration. In this quasi-equilibrium state, concentrations of OBT remained elevated and unchanged despite the arrivals of the plume. These results from the model inter-comparison demonstrate that soil-to-leaf HTO transfer significantly affects OBT/TFWT ratio in the leaf regardless of the atmospheric HTO concentration, only if there is elevated HTO concentrations in the soil. The results of this work indicate that assessment models should be refined to consider the importance of soil-to-leaf HTO transfer to ensure that dose estimates are accurate and conservative.

Impact of plasma parameter on self-organization of electron temperature gradient driven turbulence

Kawai, Chika*; Idomura, Yasuhiro; Maeyama, Shinya*; Ogawa, Yuichi*

Physics of Plasmas, 24(4), p.042303_1 - 042303_13, 2017/04

AA2017-0111.pdf:7.14MB

https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4980005

Self-organization in the slab electron temperature gradient driven (ETG) turbulence is investigated based on gyrokinetic simulations and the Hasegawa-Mima (HM) equation. The scale and the anisotropy of self-organized turbulent structures vary depending on the Rhines scale and the characteristic scale given by the adiabatic response term in the HM equation. The former is determined by competition between the linear wave dispersion and the nonlinear turbulent cascade, while the latter is given as the scale, at which the turbulent cascade is impeded. These scales are controlled by plasma parameters such as the density and temperature gradient, and the temperature ratio of ion to electron. It is found that depending on the plasma parameters, the ETG turbulence shows either isotropic turbulence or zonal flows, which give significantly different transport levels. Although the modulational instability excites zonal modes regardless of the plasma parameters, the final turbulent structure is determined by the self-organization process.

Decomposition studies of group 6 hexacarbonyl complexes, 1; Production and decomposition of Mo(CO) and W(CO)

Usoltsev, I.*; Eichler, R.*; Wang, Y.*; Even, J.*; Yakushev, A.*; Haba, Hiromitsu*; Asai, Masato; Brand, H.*; Di Nitto, A.*; Dllmann, Ch. E.*; et al.

Radiochimica Acta, 104(3), p.141 - 151, 2016/03

https://doi.org/10.1515/ract-2015-2445

Conditions of the production and decomposition of hexacarbonyl complexes of short-lived Mo and W isotopes were investigated to study thermal stability of the heaviest group 6 hexacarbonyl complex Sg(CO). A tubular flow reactor was tested to decompose the hexacarbonyl complexes and to extract the first bond dissociation energies. A silver was found to be the most appropriate reaction surface to study the decomposition of the group 6 hexacarbonyl. It was found that the surface temperature at which the decomposition occurred was correlated to the first bond dissociation energy of Mo(CO) and W(CO), indicating that the first bond dissociation energy of Sg(CO) could be determined with this technique.